ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The early parts of the season weren’t ideal for the UAlbany women’s basketball team. They battled through some injuries and some tough games. Fast forward to today, they’re back in the America East title game against the Vermont Catamounts.

Last season UAlbany defeated the Maine Black Bears in the championship game. Head coach Colleen Mullen believes past experience in this stage is a big factor for her team.

“The experience that they have and that they’ve been here before is certainly valuable, and knowing that they can do it and that they’re capable of winning the game, but they understand that just because you want to win doesn’t mean you’re going to win you have to will the game, you have to do all the intangibles, and you have to put it together by executing a gameplan,” Mullen said. “You know Vermont is going to want it just as much as us, we have to out tough them and outsmart them for 40 minutes.”

Senior guard Grace Heeps has played against Vermont plenty of times in her tenure at UAlbany and said that the team needs to live in the moment and play free.

“I don’t feel that we need to feel nervous or anxious or anything but really feeling excited about this opportunity,” said Heeps. “Not a lot of teams get this opportunity to be out there play for a championship and not only play for a championship one year, but two years in a row, and I think really enjoying the ride and enjoying every step of the way up there is going to make that moment winning the championship is going to feel that much better.”

The Danes and the Catamounts will tip off on Friday, March 10, at 5 PM.